Bizzell Library, University of Oklahoma · Photo: T3h wookiee · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Norman (5.7%) is higher than in 71% of U.S. towns
Norman grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 2.4 in Oklahoma City. About one in three work in Norman; the top destination outside it is Oklahoma City (34%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Norman and work: the main findings
A lot of Norman works one town over
40% of working residents work in a town that borders Norman: Oklahoma City (34%), Moore (4%) and Noble (1%). Next door ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
32% of the jobs based in Norman are held by workers 29 or younger, against 26% of Norman’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Norman
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norman is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #38 of 131 in Oklahoma. Job access by car holds Norman’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (16.8%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Norman could be anywhere from C to B−.
Inside Norman’s 45,737 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norman, 2013 → 2023: 41,010 → 45,737. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Norman’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Norman
On a workday 32,546 residents head out to work, 14,880 work right here, and 30,857 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Norman commutes to
Where Norman clocks in
34% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
About 23 minutes each way, about the OK average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norman workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 57,275 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Oklahoma: 85% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The commute from Norman, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Norman, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norman is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #4 of 131 in Oklahoma. Both inputs place Norman near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 65,116 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 43% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.8% of Norman households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Norman’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Norman next to U.S. towns of 92,000 to 177,000: 220th of 287 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Edmond OK | 100,479 | $103K | 8.1% | 3.3% | 21% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Broken Arrow OK | 124,991 | $87K | 8.8% | 4.2% | 17% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | Warren MI | 137,138 | $64K | 14.8% | 8.0% | 15% | C+ |
| 219 | Palm Coast FL | 109,886 | $77K | 10.6% | 4.5% | 17% | C+ |
| 220 | Norman OK | 130,943 | $68K | 16.8% | 5.7% | 31% | C+ |
| 221 | North Township IN | 152,714 | $62K | 17.1% | 6.4% | 32% | C+ |
| 222 | Wayne Township IN | 150,959 | $57K | 18.5% | 5.3% | 15% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 287 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Norman, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
Work next door: 40% of Norman’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Norman workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norman | – | C+ | A | 23 min | $67,704 |
| Moore | 4% | B | B | 23 min | $80,420 |
| Oklahoma City | 34% | B− | B+ | 22 min | $68,656 |
| Noble | 1% | B+ | C− | 29 min | $81,739 |
| Newcastle | 1% | A | C | 28 min | $93,398 |
| Slaughterville | under 1% | C | D− | 31 min | $72,944 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Oklahoma City. Darker towns draw more of Norman’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Norman: questions
What is the median household income in Norman?
$67,704 (±$3,898) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norman?
16.8%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norman?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norman work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oklahoma City (34%, 18 mi), Moore (4%, 10 mi), Tulsa (3%, 102 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norman walkable?
Norman is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norman without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norman, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norman
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.